Android Jelly Bean continued to pick up steam in January, but it's still hard pressed to top the most persistent version of the mobile operating system - Gingerbread.

According to stats released this week, the most recent version of Android - Jelly Bean - is now on 13.6 percent of devices, up from 10.2 percent the previous month. About 12.2 percent of those are running 4.1, while the rest are on 4.2.

Last month, Samsung pushed Jelly Bean to its Galaxy Note 10.1 and Tab 2 tablets. Today, Sony said it is starting its Android 4.1 Jelly Bean upgrade for the Xperia T and Xperia V smartphones this week; the Xperia TX will follow next month. Motorola also said Android 4.1 is now rolling out to the Motorola Electrify M in phases.

About 29 percent of Android devices are running Ice Cream Sandwich, hardly moving from 29.1 percent it had on Jan. 3. But most Android devices are still running Gingerbread, which launched in 2010. About 45.6 percent of Android devices have the older OS, but that share has declined steadily in recent months - from 50.8 percent in December and 47.6 percent in January.

Another 8.1 percent of devices are running Froyo, 2.2 percent have Eclair, and 0.2 percent are holding strong with Donut.

Recently, data from Localytics found that the U.S. is dominating the Android tablet race, with consumers particularly enamored with Amazon's Kindle Fire, which runs a highly customized version of Google's OS. About 33 percent of Android tablets tracked by Localytics were Amazon Kindle Fires, the Nook followed in second with 10 percent, the Samsung Galaxy was third with 9 percent, and the Nexus 7 in fourth with 8 percent.

About the Author

Before joining PCMag.com, Chloe covered financial IT for Incisive Media in NYC and technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's deg... See Full Bio

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